Fin and tonic: From pint-pulling to feeding sharks in the Bahamas

Marcus, 25, left behind life as a barman in a village pub for one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

The skilled diver decided to risk his life taking tourists to see him feed raw meat to Caribbean reef sharks and tiger sharks in the Bahamas.

Marcus, from Stokesley, North Yorks, trained to be a master scuba instructor and shark feeder trainer which has taken him around the world with A- list celebs.

He said: “I am one of only a few in the world of diving qualified to train someone to feed sharks by hand and without a safety cage.”

Life has not always been plain sailing for Marcus. If his uncles had not invited him along to a diving day in the north-east, he would probably still be serving pints.

“When I first saw a shark I immediately felt fear but it wasn’t long before that changed to admiration and respect.”

Marcus Kitching-Howe

He said: “From leaving school I was working as a barman in a sleepy village pub in North Yorkshire.

“When I left school I could tell you 100 jobs I didn’t want to do but had no idea what I really wanted.

“As soon as I started scuba diving I knew it was the job for me.”

Just a year after his first dive, Marcus emigrated to the Bahamas to work with sharks full-time.

He said: “When I first saw a shark I immediately felt fear but it wasn’t long before that changed to admiration and respect.

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Marcus wears chainmail to prevent the sharks from biting him

“When you feed them, you’ve got chainmail all over your wetsuit which offers a small amount of protection to stop the shark’s teeth from penetrating. But you can still feel the power and force in the jaws.”

Away from sharks, Marcus worked as the main underwater stuntman in the movie The Odyssey, doubling as both Jacques Cousteau and his son Philippe.

“I’ve also worked with Dominic Purcell in the movie Isolation and with Tom Cruise and his son Connor on a private shark feeding day.”

He has had a few close encounters with the creatures.

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Marcus takes tourists to feed the sharks in the Bahamas

Marcus said: “Once when we dived, I noticed the sharks’ behaviour was much faster and livelier than normal.

“Out of nowhere I felt something between my legs and I looked down to find a great big reef shark clamped on my groin.